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A review by roxanamalinachirila
The Ties That Bind by Makoto Inoue
3.0
Back in 2016, when I bought the Fullmetal Alchemist box set, I got this book as a bonus. It isn't a manga volume, like the original series, but a light novel - more precisely, it's a text-only novella with a couple of illustrations, which is about the shape and size of a manga volume.
Somehow, I managed to put it on my "to read soon" shelf and leave it there for two years. Yesterday, after reading Eoin Colfer's "Iron Man: The Gauntlet" and feeling sorely disappointed by that comic book tie-in story, I decided to read "The Ties That Bind", either to wash the disappointment away or to get more disappointment over with, whichever.
In short, it's not bad. It isn't mind-blowing, either, but it's cute and it's entertaining, and the book is a pleasure to hold in your hands.
"The Ties That Bind" wasn't written by the author of the original series, Hiromu Arakawa, but by Makoto Inoue, about whom I know nothing - and Google isn't helping. From the afterword, though, it's pretty clear that Arakawa had some editorial input.
The story takes place right before Roy Mustang is transferred to Central. Ed and Al found discover a new possible trail towards getting their bodies back, in the shape of a forbidden book which they spot in the background of a photo. Unwilling to leave any stone unturned, the two go visit the town where the bookstore holding the book used to be.
The bookstore is still there, but the original owner has died, and now it's run by his daughter-in-law, while her husband is perpetually running across the country to find new books, leaving her and her adopted Ishballan young son to take care of things alone. Ed and Al get invited to stay until they find the book they're looking for and get to know their two hosts.
Of course, things are never as simple as they seem - the original author of the forbidden book is still alive and running his highly illegal and completely mad experiments on blood and bodily regeneration, sending his creepy chimeras to attack people for spare ingredients. And naturally, Ed, Al and even Mustang get involved for an adventure that's more about family ties than about illegal experiments.
Somehow, I managed to put it on my "to read soon" shelf and leave it there for two years. Yesterday, after reading Eoin Colfer's "Iron Man: The Gauntlet" and feeling sorely disappointed by that comic book tie-in story, I decided to read "The Ties That Bind", either to wash the disappointment away or to get more disappointment over with, whichever.
In short, it's not bad. It isn't mind-blowing, either, but it's cute and it's entertaining, and the book is a pleasure to hold in your hands.
"The Ties That Bind" wasn't written by the author of the original series, Hiromu Arakawa, but by Makoto Inoue, about whom I know nothing - and Google isn't helping. From the afterword, though, it's pretty clear that Arakawa had some editorial input.
The story takes place right before Roy Mustang is transferred to Central. Ed and Al found discover a new possible trail towards getting their bodies back, in the shape of a forbidden book which they spot in the background of a photo. Unwilling to leave any stone unturned, the two go visit the town where the bookstore holding the book used to be.
The bookstore is still there, but the original owner has died, and now it's run by his daughter-in-law, while her husband is perpetually running across the country to find new books, leaving her and her adopted Ishballan young son to take care of things alone. Ed and Al get invited to stay until they find the book they're looking for and get to know their two hosts.
Of course, things are never as simple as they seem - the original author of the forbidden book is still alive and running his highly illegal and completely mad experiments on blood and bodily regeneration, sending his creepy chimeras to attack people for spare ingredients. And naturally, Ed, Al and even Mustang get involved for an adventure that's more about family ties than about illegal experiments.